Heat Index: Wrong choice, T.O.

by Bob McManaman - Mar. 15, 2009 01:13 PMThe Arizona Republic

So Terrell Owens is now a member of the Buffalo Bills.

Brrrrrrrrrr.

And that isn't the old Heat Index shivering at the thought of the icy cold temperatures poor T.O. will be encountering come next season. It's the Heat Index shivering sympathy pains for the poor Buffalo Bills now that they've signed the biggest malcontent and headache in NFL history.

Yeah, good luck with that.

The only positive we can see out of this is that at least it's only a one-year deal for Owens. Anything more than that would have been too much more of a risk than it already is.

Controversy follows T.O. wherever he goes and as much as you can count on blizzards in Buffalo, you can count on Owens causing chaos in some form or another with the Bills.

It's T.O.'s M.O. It's what he does.

Now you would think that after all the havoc he wrought at every other one of his stops so far, from San Francisco to Philadelphia to Dallas, which released him, Owens might finally get wise and shut his trap for one season. If he performs well and plays the good soldier, too, in what essentially is a free-agent year for him, it could lead to another contract - either with the Bills or an actual legitimate contender.

Bills head coach Dick Jauron, a good guy who nearly lost his job a year ago, made his first public comments about Owens a few days ago. You may have missed it, but he said Owens will start with "a clean slate" in Buffalo.

"We'll start with him just like we do every player that's new here, and we'll start and build our relationship from this point forward," Jauron told reporters at a news conference.

The Bills needed to do something to try and electrify one of the most stagnant offenses in the league. It has ranked 25th or lower for the past six seasons and it's been nine years since the Bills have been to the playoffs.

That, combined with sagging attendance figures and the Bills bearing little to no national relevance, forced the team to gamble on Owens. But it could backfire given his intolerance for quarterbacks who get tired of his act and start throwing passes to every one else but him.

Owens' antics, even if for a single season, could end up disrupting the development of the Bills' young starting quarterback, Trent Edwards.

What, you don't think T.O. stunted the growth of Tony Romo in Dallas?

Edwards says he's a believer in Owens. He calls him "a winner" who can "help a lot just in terms of raising our competitive level off the field, too."

"He's going to make guys work in the offseason, make guys work in the weight room and the film room, and I'm anxious to get started."

Say all you want about Owens, but he is a tireless worker who takes care of his body, even if his mind isn't always there. He's still got talent, too, despite being on the downside of his career.

Could he make Buffalo better? Sure, but probably not enough to make a real difference. For that to happen, there really was only one team for which Owens could have gone that would have returned Super Bowl-type dividends:

The New England Patriots.

Think about it. With a total team-first mentality and a tyrannical head coach in Bill Belichick that commands unity and metes out individualism, Owens could have shined with the Patriots.

In Tom Brady, he would have a quarterback who has complete respect from the entire team, a leader who could help keep Owens in line and on board. It worked with Randy Moss. It could have worked with Terrell Owens.

And yes, the Patriots thought about it, but before anything got serious, Owens decided to shuffle off to Buffalo and sign with the first team that made him a genuine offer.

Good luck with that, Buffalo, where wins and potential are as few as there are leaders in the locker room.